FANCY FREE - Shelley Munro
Ellora’s Cave www.ellorascave.com
ISBN: 978-1-4199-1334-1
March 2008
Erotic Contemporary Romance
Rated: E-rotic

Sloan, New Zealand - Present Day

Most people would be a little shocked at inheriting a company that manufactures condoms, but for Alice Beasley – who’s never actually seen a condom before – shocked is too mild a word.  The inheritance from her late godmother does have a stipulation: Alice can receive ten thousand dollars now, or work for the company for six months and get three hundred thousand dollars and shares in the company when the six months are up.  With her student loans to pay off and a desperate need for financial stability, Alice opts to work at Fancy Free, even though her almost fiancé threatens to leave her if she does.

James Bates will fulfill his promise to his late friend and train the new owner, even though it means having to work closely with the prudish Alice.  Her second night in town introduces James to a different side of Alice, which turns out to be a good thing.  Someone is sabotaging Fancy Free, and in order to save the company, they will need to keep their new condom design under wraps (so to speak).  This means that James and Alice will have to test the new design personally. 

For the first time in her life, Alice is gambling with her future, and not just financially.  The testing she and James are doing brings her pleasure, but it can’t last.  When Alice’s six months are up, so are James’, and he plans to leave New Zealand for good.

FANCY FREE is a charming and often humorous story.  Growing up, Alice’s family suffered some hard times and now she wants the financial security she didn’t have as a child.  Because of this, she’s concentrated on her schooling and her career to the point that she has very little experience with men or sex.  Despite the fact that she and her current boyfriend have discussed marriage, their relationship isn’t a sexual one, and one glimpse of James has her wondering what she’s missing.  Her boyfriend breaking up with her when she agrees to stay proves that there was more missing from their relationship than just sex.  When James first returned to Sloan, he had hoped to be able to settle back into life in his hometown.  However, pressure from his family has made life here miserable, and he can’t wait for his six months to be up so he can travel the world.  He has some misconceptions about Alice that make things difficult for them at first, but things heat up between them anyway.   

Alice and James aren’t the only interesting characters in the book.  The company’s board of directors is comprised of the “oldies”, two women and three men who were contemporaries of her godmother, and add spice and humor to the story.  The sabotage plot, in addition to being the catalyst that gets Alice and James together, also adds a bit of mystery.

A captivating tale, I highly recommend FANCY FREE.

Jennifer Bishop